Friday, August 8, 2014

Raindrops and Cloudy Bubbles, with Tutorial

I recently purchased and wore Illamasqua Raindrops, which used to be a cult favorite (and difficult to find, at that). It was lauded for it's soft shimmer and delicate flakes in a pale grey-blue base, and I loved a lot of the swatches that I saw of it online. Unfortunately, the polish fell flat for me. I didn't think it looked great on my nails, and I expected it to be a bit more soft and jelly-like vs. opaque. I decided to embellish it with some cloudy bubbles.

Though I think the technique has been tackled by a few people, I first saw this specific technique, with acrylic paint, on @madamluck's Instagram, though a few people have mentioned that nail artists may have been doing it for a while now. I filmed a video while I was doing this nail art, and the process is pretty easy.

Thin out acrylic paint with one part paint and one part water. Place a bead of the thinned paint on your nail and then use a dry brush to soak up the excess paint from the middle of the bead. This should leave a ring of paint on your nail like a bubble. Repeat as necessary, wiping off the brush in between bubbles. Finish with topcoat.

I do think the cloudy bubbles helped me enjoy this manicure a bit more, though probably not enough to make me keep this polish in my collection. Sorry Illamasqua! While I normally love your lacquers, this one just didn't do it for me.

Now those are what I call raindrops! LOL That's an awesome look. I feel the same you do towards Illamasqua Pink Raindrops, it just didn't do anything for me. Was so excited to receive it, and it fell flat on me. Think I am going to try this technique with the Pink and see if it changes my mind. Thanks for the inspiration!

Sarah, I find grays are hard to wear for some people. I think it depends on the color of the undertone of both the polish and one's skin. I guess it's a matter of trial and error! I still enjoy this mani, though, and your quick tutorial.

I haven't tried it with polish, so I can't say. I think to use polish you'd have to mix it with acetone vs. water, which could be very messy and would obviously evaporate much more quickly. That would make "soaking up" the bubble much tougher. If you do any experimenting, make sure you are careful with the acetone. It can eat through wood and plastic (would recommend working on an aluminum foil palette).